Archive for the 'Mixtape to Mp3' Category

This is the 3rd installment in our series of Radio London recordings. Press play and you’re knee deep in a rare interview between Malik X and Roger S. (aka Roger Sanchez). They speak about the UK scene and discuss a “rave” held later that evening 167 Church (The Party Centre) where the two will be spinning. Malik also makes also makes some bang-on comments about the future of Toronto’s scene.

I’m fairly certain this interview pre-dates Exodus events and was likely recorded in the summer of 1991, perhaps even earlier. Around this time a posse of UK punters had united in Toronto and were on a mission to rave and Malik was describing warehouse parties as such.

This tape was compliments of Captain B. Mental a fact made obvious by two things: the Malik shout-out mash-up at the beginning made up of numerous B. Mental mentions and the stop and start B. Mental tape deck mixing I’ve previously mentioned. Having said that the recording isn’t entirely Radio London, but towards the end more of Malik’s sound bites appear “L-L-L-L-L-Locking your radio…”

It’s also full of a lot of obscure tracks that we’ve been unable to identify, so please post a comment if you recognize any of the tracks not listed below.

Welcome to the second tape in our series of Radio London recordings. This broadcast starts off with a track featured in a British film titled Young Soul Rebels. Malik X then discusses the movie being showcased at The Festival of Festivals (which was what the Toronto Film Festival was known as until 1994). Given the context of Malik’s comments combined with the knowledge that this event has always been held in September we can deduce this show was broadcast either in late September or early October of 1991.

We can also determine that the previous entry in this series was recorded the week prior. How you ask? In both sessions Malik plays Machine Dream and both times he’s caught off guard when the record ends. When it happens in this recording he references the week prior and confesses the track always sends him away.

A few other points of interest – during Air Witness News Malik features a hot-off-the-press white label titled Cloud 9 given to him by non other than Nick Holder. There’s also a mention of Exodus possibly taking a break from 23 Hop to host a rave in Brampton.

“Attention everyone, this an emergency broadcast. The unpleasant noise you are about to hear coming your radio is not a mistake – please do not turn off your radio but turn up the volume on your receiver as high as it can go – so that you can make the sound that we broadcast as loud as possible.”

The beginning of this tape experiences some technical difficulties but nothing a quote from one of Malik’s Radio London sound bites can’t fix in a jiffy. As Atheama by Nebula II continues from the previous side the audio struggles to gain composure. I’m not sure what the explanation for this is but I remember it being on the original tape as well. Fear not, it doesn’t last too long.

Before we know it Annihilate by the Annihilator decimates with fully functioning decibels. Way in my Brain by SL2 gives us a little more ragga style techno and is blended with another unidentified track for a lengthy period of time. Unlike all the other mucking about/sampling on this tape the unknown track is never played on its own only used to funk-out Way in my Brain. And when it’s all said and done the trippy sample is definitely way in our brains.

What ever fires are still burning from the total destruction caused by the Annihilator keep burning courtesy of Keep the Fire Burning by the House Crew. Any one fortunate enough to survive by this point is subsequently exterminated at zero range with Exterminate by DMS. The fire and flames continue with Johnny by the Ibiza Crew “you’re going to burn for this Angel” which is a sample from the movie Angel Heart.

I’ve always thought CeCe Peniston’s Finally was an odd selection as the next track – so here’s a few theories:

1. After annihilating, burning and exterminating the crowd Malik was probably trying to ease the tension and settle things down in the room. And just for the record Finally was mostly likely hot off the presses not going commercial until early 1992.

2. Finally could have been dropped by another one of the Booming System DJs and could represent a transition to a new set. This theory is reinforced when The Future is dropped a second time at the end of the tape (would Malik have played it twice?) If the DJ change theory is correct, the mixing still remains smooth, could it be Dr. No?

Regardless of what ever moments we had to relax compliments of CeCe the mayhem starts again with Riots in Brixton by English Friday. Another Exodus anthemFeel It by Coco Steel and LoveBomb polishes things off with its unique build up and the ever-so satisfying climax.

There’s another mic appearance during the rewind of this song at (38:55) but it doesn’t sound like Malik: “we’re gonna play that one again, whistles in the house!” The more I play it the more I believe it could very well be Captain B. himself. This would explain why he so closely guarded this particular tape and kept it completely intact for once. And since the end of the tape is near, this places him at the scene in perfect position to eject it from the deck, pocket the master and slip out in to the crowd undetected.

Enjoy.

P.S. By cross referencing the exact release dates of certain tracks on this tape (Finally, Activ-8) combined with the knowledge that Malik didn’t DJ most of December – we’ve determined this tape is most likely from a Saturday in November of 1991.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard thus far, and if Exodus’ flyer copy-writing speaks the truth, then this tape is “guaranteed to blow your mind.” I can’t be sure of the date it was recorded, only that it was made sometime during the second half of 1991. I am sure, however, this example is the earliest complete recording of a rave in Toronto. If there’s another one floating around out there, please prove me wrong – the more the merrier. I’m also certain this set is specifically Malik’s, given the selection of tracks, mic work and mixing.

I obtained this recording from Captain B. Mental. Thankfully he didn’t meddle with this mix as he did all other Exodus recordings in my possession. Even better news is that this copy was taped from the master so it’s about the best quality you’re going to get. Before you get too excited, keep in mind the original was recorded on the dirty 23 Hop DJ booth’s tape deck and then duplicated for me on another low-quality deck. Then factor in a few hundred plays, 18 years of analog decay and additional loss in quality when converted to mp3 format. Truth be told, it could still benefit from a Dolby Noise Reduction button.

Another interesting tidbit to point out is that, for some reason, the tape deck in the booth wasn’t recording the mic, so a few times throughout the recording the volume dips down when the mic was in use. Do yourself a favor and jack the volume during these times. Thanks to the needle on the live turntable, sometimes you’ll faintly hear Malik speaking. His chants are heard clearly twice: “Brampton crew in the house!” (11:35) and “What’s on your mind?” (22:50). And of course, there are cameos by the whistle posse throughout.

The tape starts off with a few classic tech-house warm-ups: Amnesia by Mr. Fingers, The Dance by Rhythm is Rhythm and I’m Not So Selfish by Techno Grooves on the Mach 2 EP. Then “Oh no, not more bass!” warns us that Altern 8’s Infiltrate 202 is about to kick things up a notch. This tune and a few others on this side are obvious 1991 Toronto anthems, given Malik’s rewinds and mic appearances. He makes sure to take the next mix slow and not rush it, mucking about for at least two minutes blending in White Form by Never Mind masterfully. K Groove’s The Future, frequently described by Malik as “aerobic-style techno,” is smoothly mixed in after being rewound again and again. Back from Detox by Dove People throws a little ragga style our way before Altern 8 makes a second appearance with Activ-8. “Top one, nice one, get sorted” is sampled somewhat conservatively compared to some other nights when it would be stuck in my head until the next time I heard it… a week later. Human Resource’s classic Dominator arrives on the scene followed by Hurricane by Sykosis 451. Then Antheama by Nebula II leaves us in a state of confusion.

A portion of this photo essay appears in the Winter 2018 edition of Spacing, available now on newsstands and at the Spacing Store (401 Richmond St W) In 1984, when I was commissioned to do documentary photography for an exhibition entitled “Spadina Avenue: A Photohistory”, the avenue still had t...

I sat in these chairs the day after my wedding with my new wife and my brother wondering what the fuck I was doing there. Lol

5 - 1 week 2 days ago

Typical Toronto Queen&John behavior to skip out on a deal with a broke ass John who only wanted 50 bucks while organizers charged kids ridiculous prices. If he only had more balls and brain cells he could have asked for $500. But than some organizers would have had him hurt.

1 week 2 days ago

Cool! I never did go in there, but saw years worth of people coming out of there sketchy as fuck many Sunday afternoons

Here's the final portion of the legendary, "Clash of the Techno" Radio London CKLN show. The four members of the Booming System Collective had roughly 25 minutes of air time to showcase their choons. Mark Oliver takes over following Malik's set. Shuggy comes in cool and "collective" to calm things d...